


Home Is Wherever I'm With You

by Ravens_World



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Developing Friendships, Domestic Tarlos, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Post 2x07 Because TK and Nancy needed to have a conversation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:09:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29825445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravens_World/pseuds/Ravens_World
Summary: He put a hand on Carlos' cheek and let his eyes roam his face, and his throat tightened at the serene, sleepy smile on his boyfriend's face. "I love you," he told him softlyTK talks to Nancy, checks on his father and then finally, he goes home to Carlos.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand, Nancy Gillian & TK Strand
Comments: 14
Kudos: 265





	Home Is Wherever I'm With You

**Author's Note:**

> First 911 LS fic!!  
> This is post 2x07, because I needed TK and Nancy to have a conversation, and I really needed another domestic tarlos scene.
> 
> Let me know what you think, and be gentle with me??😂
> 
> Happy Reading!!

_**Nancy** _

"Hey, Nancy?"

"Yeah?" 

TK rubbed his hands together anxiously and cleared his throat. "Can I talk to you alone, for a minute?"

She eyed him dubiously, then shrugged. "Yeah, okay."

"I wanted to apologize."

Nancy shook her head. "You don't have to, this-" she pointed at the ambulance behind them, "was more than enough."

"No, it's not." He looked her in the eyes. "I was nervous," he admitted. "This is- it's a new job, one I wasn't even sure I'd be good at, and- I may have overcompensated?" 

She cracked a smile, and gave him a look that, coupled with the raised eyebrows, screamed " _ya think?_ " and he laughed. 

"I want us to be a team, Nancy. I won't ever replace Tim; I don't even want to. But- I'm here, and I'd like it if you gave me a chance?"

She shook her head. "It was never about you, TK. It's just- It felt like you were trying to erase him. It pissed me off, and it made me feel like I needed to move on when I wasn't ready to."

He nodded. "I get that. But- it wasn't my intention. I just wanted to be good at this so badly, you know?"

She rolled her eyes. "What did you have to be so nervous about?! I know your record- it's pretty impressive, TK."

He just shrugged. And then he remembered another thing that had bothered him about their conversation in the ambulance before the cap had joined them. "I wasn't trying to score points with the cap, by the way. That was never what anything I did was about," he wanted her to know. 

"You drove the cap to her daughter's black belt event, and used the siren. You were sucking up, admit it," she told him with a laugh. 

TK knew he had two choices now. He could either laugh it off and sweep it under the rug, or he could tell her the truth and risk getting a pitying look from his new teammate. 

He took a breath and chose the latter. "After my parents' divorce, I lived with my dad mostly, and he was-" he started, and thankfully, his voice didn't shake. Nancy's smile fell off her face. "Dad was pretty busy, and I can count the times he actually made it to one of the events I was involved in on one hand and still have fingers left. I thought, if I could spare a kid that, then what's the harm?" 

Nancy was silent, and to his surprise, there was no pity in her eyes as she watched him. Just sadness. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

TK waved her off. He looked up to where his dad's office was. "We're way past that," he said with a casual smile, the lie tasting bitter on his tongue. 

Nancy's expression was unreadable, and TK didn't spend much time dwelling on it. He straightened up from where he was leaning against the fire truck and pushed his hands into his pockets. "I'll see you next shift?" 

She smiled. "Yeah, I'll see you."

"And, uh- we're having a get together tomorrow at Carlos', if you wanna join?"

She ducked her head down, shy and maybe a little nervous, but she nodded nonetheless. "I'd like that."

He grinned at her. "Good. I'll text you the adress."

She grinned back. "Okay."

**_Owen_ **

When TK got home, the lights were off. He thought his parents were sleeping, until he heard sounds coming from the kitchen. He frowned and headed there, keeping his footfalls light. 

He peeked in and saw his dad, with his head pillowed on his arms which were resting on the counter. The kitchen was messy; pans and pots on the counter, all around him. It was a very unusual sight that frankly concerned him. TK sighed, wondering if he had another fight with his mother, and decided to check on him, even if there was a possibility this would turn into a one hour rant about their latest issue. "Dad?" He called quietly, and the older man nearly jumped a foot in the air. 

"TK! Where have you been?"

TK moved forward, frown etched on his face as his dad swayed in place. "Are you drunk?" He asked as he came to stand beside him. He dunked under his arm and helped him shuffle his way to the bedroom. "I'm rebound guy," he slurred, pitching forward. 

TK only just managed to keep them both from falling. He adjusted his grip on his father's waist and then moved again. "What does that even mean?"

"Not my baby," his dad muttered. "-really wanted that baby."

His heart dropped right to his toes, and if he felt the loss this intensely, when the baby would still be his brother, he couldn't imagine what his dad was feeling. He hugged him close. "I'm really sorry, dad."

"Your mom left," his father informed him, and TK wanted to be surprised. He wanted to feel angry. But all he could feel was a deep sense of sadness and disappointment, and, though he was loathe to admit it, he was also relieved. Because he'd had a feeling from the moment his mother had stepped into town that her presence was temporary and he'd been holding his breath ever since, waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

Now it did, and TK knew he had to deal with the fallout now, which, by the look of his father, wasn't going to be pretty.

He helped his father lay down in his bed and covered him with the comforter. "It's gonna be okay, dad," he whispered, but it fell on dead ears as his father slept on.   
.  
**_Carlos_**

He opened the door to his boyfriend's apartment with his own key, and felt a thrill at the thought. He'd had it for about a month now, and yet, the novelty of having the key still hadn't worn off. 

He doubted it would any time soon.

It was late, a few minutes past midnight, and he knew Carlos would probably be asleep already, but he needed to be close to him right now. He needed to sleep, and not think, and nothing worked better than being in Carlo's arms. He entered the bedroom quietly, and was surprised to find Carlos, blinking sleepily, sitting up in bed. He smiled, tired and lopsided. "Hey."

TK smiled back, then went and crawled under the covers. "Hi."

Carlos opened his arms immediately, and TK relished in the warmath his touch provided. He let out a sigh and sagged into his arms. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," TK assured him. "My parents are- I think the baby isn't my dad's? At least that was what I got from what he told me."

Carlos' face fell. "Shit, TK." 

"Yeah. It sucks."

"Still your brother, though," he told him tentatively. "You're not losing that."

TK snorted. "You know, even when the kid was theirs, I had trouble believing they were gonna last; that my mom was going to stay. Now, though? I can tell you, with absolute certainty, my mom is gonna leave. And I'll be seeing my baby brother a couple of times a year, and that's if I'm lucky."

Carlos' arms tightened around him. "Maybe she'll be better at keeping in touch when the baby's born?"

TK wouldn't hold his breath for that. He didn't want to burden Carlos with it anymore though. "I hope so," he said quietly, and it wasn't even a lie. He did hope, with every fiber of his being, that his mother wouldn't go back to old habits of burying herself in her work and forgetting her son existed. He also hoped she learned from her mistakes with him, and didn't repeat them with his baby brother.

Carlos, probably knowing TK was getting lost in his own head, changed the subject. "How did it go with Nancy?"

"Good." TK smiled. "Really good. I invited her over, for tomorrow. If that's okay?"

Carlos grinned. "That's great. See, I told you she didn't hate your guts."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You were right." 

"I always am," Csrlos told him with an air of fake superiority and TK playfully poked him in the chest. Carlos chuckled and leaned in. He pressed a quick kiss to TK's lips, soft and sweet and though he wanted to deepen it, TK knew Carlos was exhausted, and if he was being honest, so was he. He lay down, and Carlos followed him. He put an arm under TK's head, then wrapped the other around his waist. TK smiled to himself and grabbed the covers, pulling them up and over both of them. He put a hand on Carlos' cheek and let his eyes roam his face, and his throat tightened at the serene, sleepy smile on his boyfriend's face. "I love you," he told him softly, pressing a kiss to his forehead. 

He felt Carlos press a kiss to the hollow of his throat, soft and a little clumsy. "Love you, too," he slurred, sounding half-asleep.

TK grinned, then turned to his side and scooted back until his back was glued to Carlos' chest; so close he could feel him breathing. 

It was a comfort he never wanted to lose.

He laced their fingers together, then brought Carlos' hand up to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on the back of it. The lack of response told him his boyfriend was already asleep, so he got comfortable, let out a weary sigh, and then let the comfort of the arms around him lull him into a deep, dreamless sleep. 


End file.
